Jul. 20, 2014

Written by

Chip Hurlburt

Detroit Free Press guest writer

Chip Hurlburt

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Michigan has always encouraged and rewarded innovators. From Motor City to Motown, Michiganders have always been leaders — identifying problems and envisioning solutions. When we see opportunities, we act.

Michigan’s commitment to finding new ways and new models extends to our classrooms. In 1994, state lawmakers approved the creation of public charter schools to bring this same spirit of innovation to bear on growing concerns about the quality of traditional district schools and the need to offer a choice to all families, regardless of their economic and social backgrounds.

National Heritage Academies (NHA) was created to fulfill that mission. From the beginning, we have sought to better educate more children and to challenge each child to succeed. We believe all children should have the academic training to get into college if they wish.

Since 1995, NHA has invested nearly $300 million of private funds in Michigan, including about $36 million in Detroit. NHA schools serve 32,239 students in Michigan, about 62% of whom are low-income and qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. We employ more than 3,000 people in Michigan, including more than 400 in the Detroit area.

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Parents know our model works. We have personal testimonials and satisfaction surveys, but the best evidence of this parental support is market demand: There are 11,197 names on wait lists for seats in our Michigan schools.

Apples-to-apples comparisons to neighboring district schools help explain the appeal. More than 90% of NHA’s Michigan schools had a higher overall proficiency rate than neighboring district schools on the Michigan Educational Assessment Program. In Detroit, our partner schools outperform Detroit Public Schools on the MEAP by 9 percentage points, and consistently outperform DPS in all grade or subject categories tested. The benefits of this academic success are just as clear when a longer view is taken. As of September 2012, 37% of students who completed eighth grade at NHA have graduated from a four-year college. The national average for all students is lower, 31%. For low-income students, the average is even lower — just 11%.

Like all Michigan charter schools, we build our record under close government scrutiny. Charter schools here are held strictly accountable for following state law. In many ways, Michigan’s public charter schools are held to a greater level of accountability than traditional public schools. Charter schools must explain their records to the state, to the authorizer that provides the charter, to the school board and to parents. If public charter schools fail to meet these groups’ expectations, they can be closed. Unfortunately, this same level of scrutiny is frequently not applied to traditional schools.

NHA is disappointed that the Free Press failed to capture a complete picture of our academic success.

No charter school model, including ours, is perfect. But NHA offers parents what they want the most: a high-quality alternative and the right to choose it. For that we will not apologize. I want the readers of the Free Press to know that I am proud to lead an organization of dedicated employees committed to constant improvement while focused on best meeting the needs of every student, every day.